5 Things you buy because you feel guilty

I don't know if I'm some kind of sucker, or if this happens to everyone, but I often find myself forking out cash for things I don't really want, and then feeling crap about it afterward.  The reason?  Some smart-arsed sales assistant has worked out how to push my guilt buttons, of which there are many, forcing me into a purchase of something ridiculous, unneeded and overpriced. Does this happened to you?  Here's a few ways it can..


1.  BEAUTY AND FACE STUFF - You rarely treat yourself to a facial, so when you do, you want to lie down, relax, switch off and be pampered.  You don't want to be told your skin looks dry. You don't want to be told about fine lines or wrinkles - especially if they're yours.  You don't want to hear that after 30 your skin starts losing elasticity and after 40 it no longer regenerates itself. You certainly don't want to be asked if you'd consider botox. And when the therapist asks what you use to care for your skin, you lie, because you don't want to admit that you would never cleanse, tone, exfoliate and moisturise, even if you were at a Nutrimetics party, and that's why your skin is so sallow, you have bags under your eyes, big pores, lots of little lines and the occasional zit. So when she tells you your skin 'just gobbled up' the $650 worth of 'nutrients' she sloshed on your face, you grudgingly buy the cheapest one and go home with a shiny face and empty purse.

2.  HAIRCARE PRODUCTS - You go to the hairdresser which is already exorbitantly expensive, and you sit in the chair for 2 and a half hours, and somewhere during the conversation about your hairdresser's love-life and your kids' gymnastics prowess, you hear that your hair is dry. Or yellowed.  Or weak, or frizzy or split or something generally unpleasant which makes you feel like only half a woman. So when you hit reception with your wallet open and the new product for frizzy, weak, split and unpleasant hair comes out, you shell out, not just for the  cut, colour and blow-dry, but also for a product you would never have normally bought and which you will inevitably use only for a week before shoving it to the bask of your bathroom cupboard with the other 33 similarly unused haircare products.  Because you are only half a woman.  Half mum, half woman.

3.  SHOE CARE PRODUCTS - No one is actually in the market for these.  They're a pure, pure upsell.  Just like spray and chamois cleaners for your sunglasses - both of which I've been guilted into buying.  This time the sneaky salesperson is suggesting you don't have the panache to look after your special stuff, and you DO have panache, you know it! This is what happens: You've just bought these fantastic leather boots.  Ooooh, aaaah, aren't they lovely, you're going to look gorgeous, what a great buy with such soft Italian leather, and such a great price, but are you going to buy the leather care?  Oh you must, or they simply won't last. They're so superb and you're pretty much going to go out and trash them tomorrow with your cheap, non leather-caring ways aren't you?  So you'd better buy that stinky spray with enough chemical fumes to kill a baby chicken, and use it, otherwise risk wearing half-baked boots that match your half-baked attitude. Sold.

5. ULTIMATE CAR WASH - Your car is covered in bird and possum shit.  Ok, yours may not be, but mine is. Inside the car - and no-one with kids can deny this - you could collect enough biscuit crumb to make cheesecake, there are lolly wrappers from the last 15 party bags your kids received, plus the actual bags themselves. There's general shoe-dirt, a few pencils, hair clips, some works of art and a few of the craft items from kindy that were too ugly to bring into the house.  Yes?  So when you say 'standard thanks,' and the guy at the car wash takes one look and goes 'need polish,' you feel guilty and embarrassed and you say, 'of course. OK.'  Then you go get your coffee and when you come back an hour later, the car looks fabulous and the cashier says '$95 thanks,' and you crap yourself wondering how you're going to explain that to your husband, which of course you're not going to, because you'll keep it to yourself and feel guilty about that too!

5.  DISNEY PRINCESS STUFF - I can't stand the cheesiness, the princess-ness and the crappiness of this stuff but my house is full of it!  The worst are the movies, which undo years of hard work teaching your girls to be strong independent young chicks, and in less than an hour, impart the high value of being beautiful, rich and wearing pretty stuff. They also teach that rich people are always happy, well dressed and have good luck in love. Poor people are generally sad and unattractive, and are orphans or motherless, which takes alot of explaining. If they have a mother she's mostly awful or not the real mother and still awful, which requires even more explaining. So when you try not to buy this shit and it's the first thing your kid looks at, and the salesperson shakes her head and says 'It's not for you, it's for her," (this actually happened to me), you buy the Disney Princess bedspread, and take it home where it will live happily ever after with the DP beach towel, DP lunchbox, DP shoes, make-up, singlets, gumboots and colouring-in pads.

5 Things grown women should remember before a girl's night out

 After the hard yards of early mummy-hood, when the babies are no longer on boob, the nights aren’t so sleepless and 'the day after' involves school or pre-school, mummies everywhere are taking advantage and heading out for a good old-fashioned hoo-ha.  A bunch of girls, a bunch of drinks, and a bunch of laughs.  I did one of these last week with some of the best and funniest chicks in the world, and it reminded me there are some things grown women seem to forget somewhere between that fourth drink and home time that really ought to be remembered... 

 

1.     YOUNG MEN DON’T NEED LIFE COACHING – At some stage during the night, some poor bastard – often a waiter, bar person or the bloke you ‘borrowed’ a cigarette from because you don’t smoke – ends up at your table copping an earful of advice. They seem to like volunteering information about the girlfriend who wants to have kids/doesn’t want to have kids/wants to get married/won’t get married/the girl they’re trying to chase/dump etc. As the motherly mothers you are, you can’t help but offer your incredible wisdom, loudly, and generally all at once. Imagine your husband sitting there while 4 half drunk buzzards screech their recommendations for his future!?! It’s an unusual phenomenon, but weirdly, it often results in a prize - a couple of cigarettes for later consumption, an extra bottle of wine or in special cases, a discount on your bill!    

2.     BOUNCERS REALLY DON’T WANT TO SEE YOUR ID – Bouncers ask for ID from people who look under 21.  You have had children.  You have bags under your eyes.  You have a skirt that covers more than your arse and are carrying a jacket for later when it gets cold.  YOU ARE CLEARLY OVER 21!  They’re not going to ask, so keep it in your wallet.  Under no circumstances should you pull it out and ask them if they want to have a little look, as this will result in the suggestion that you and your friends  move right along because you are clearly too intoxicated to attend this very classy establishment. 

3.     IT’S STILL NOT COOL TO DANCE AROUND YOUR HANDBAGS – In fact, I don’t even think having a handbag is cool.  I don’t know where girls carry their crap these days, but no-one seems to have a bag.  They don’t shove money and lipstick down their tops either, because there’s not enough fabric to hold it there. It could be shoved down their FMBs – the only thing that covers a significant amount of flesh.  My husband once told me that I was obviously the oldest woman in the bar because I was wearing a scarf.  I said it was winter.  He just said ‘you’re old’.  But back to the bags.  Don’t put them on the floor.  Don’t step touch around them.  Don’t flash-dance, slam dance or attempt to pole dance around them either.  They’ll just get beer and vomit and shoe muck on them anyway, and by now your bag should be expensive enough that you don’t want that kind of crap anywhere near it.  Put your money in your bra.  At least you’re wearing one.

4.     RESTAURANTS DON’T SERVE FOOD AFTER 10PM NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU BEG – Because you shared the mezze plates or went for the set menu tapas, and because you spent most of your time either talking or drinking, when midnight hits (unless you’re on the dance-floor with your money down your bra) you’re absolutely starving and there’s nowhere to get food.  You can beg the guys putting chairs on tables, you can ask to see the manager and you can tell them you’ll put your complaint in writing, but no-one, I repeat no-one, is getting back into a kitchen to make you a meal.  Especially not the way you look by this time sister, no matter how hot you thought you were 6 hours ago. 

5.     PIZZA, KEBABS AND MEAT PIES HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE WORLD – After the final restaurant rejection, you realise you’ll need to embark on a search for the best food you can possibly find.  The smell usually gets you first, but only after an infinite period of walking, after which time you’re pretty much ready to eat your own leg.  Hence, regardless of the type of food you find, it will taste like absolute heaven, and you will eat lots of it, very quickly, speaking loudly about how good it is to anyone who’ll listen.  The next day you’ll have happy recollections of this clandestine activity, as will those around you, as the whiff of garlic wafts up now and then as a reminder.  One word of warning: avoid Indian Take-Away at all costs, especially Chicken Tikka, otherwise, you may find a little more than a whiff popping up to remind you of the night before!

5 things every woman should know about waxing

Last week I went in for my 5-weekly ‘wax job,’ which involves some form of bikini wax (stock-standard, G-string or Brazilian), plus an eyebrow tidy up.  After this particular episode, I somehow walked away with a piece of skin missing from my thigh crease, and two days later was sporting a mask of about 23 pimples across my forehead, including a trio of spots between my eyebrows and my nose ridge which I’m now referring to as the ‘Bermuda Triangle.’  While I continue to wonder why we bother with this painful and dangerous beauty ritual, I’m offering up my 5 best waxing tips for those of you who are brave enough to continue this now ancient tradition...

1.     BEWARE OF PIMPLES – As you grow older gracefully, may you find peace in the knowledge that you’re never too old for a pimple.  Or ten. Waxing of any facial region can bring them on. Thankfully I've no need for a mo’ wax, but God help those of you who do. The pimples (which are actually whiteheads) appear only sometimes and strike a few days after the wax.  I have no idea what triggers them – a different type of wax?  Your skin on the day?  The soothing product afterwards?  Who knows?  And sorry, this one’s clearly not a tip.  I have no help to offer and am still trying to cover my spotty brow and keep myself from squeezing.(Beauticians – any advice?  Please comment!)

The lovely smelling Bump eRaiser

2.     BEWARE OF IN-GROWNS– These are on a par with pimples and can be painful, ugly, and can get awfully infected (though at least they’re not on your face for the world to see).  I get the odd ingrown, but they're a big problem for some people, especially if you're going the whole hog. My awesome waxing lady Michelle from Belle Isle in Manly recently put me on to this stuff called Bump eRaiser, which works a treat to keep in-grown hairs at bay.  Even if you do get the odd one, Bump eRaiser seems to soften them so much they just fall out.  It smells lovely too, which is a bonus.  Highly recommended.

3.     IT WILL ALWAYS HURT – I’ve been waxing for what – 20 years now? - and it STILL hurts!  No matter what they tell you, being waxed more frequently doesn’t make the hair finer nor the process less painful.  It hurts every time and more if you’re pre-menstrual, so don’t go that week!  Some people recommend taking a Nurofen about an hour before your appointment to relax your muscles a little.  I’m not a big fan of painkillers if they're not totally necessary, but if you don’t mind, I hear it really helps.

4.     DON’T BOTHER WITH DISPOSABLE UNDIES IF YOU’RE GOING BRAZILIAN – Seriously, there’s no point.  It will be pushed aside, away and may as well not be there.  Just get naked.  It helps if you’ve had a baby, because you’ve already had several strangers get acquainted with you down there and you probably don’t care as much.  You’ll want to find a ‘specialist’ - someone who does this all the time and is very quick – both with the wax and the timing (like Michelle). No one wants this experience to last any longer than it needs to! You’ll also want to know your beautician preeetty well, trust them, and trust the cleanliness of the salon, because there’s not much room for prudishness, queasiness or dignity! 

5.     DON’T BE BULLIED INTO A BRAZILIAN – When they first became the hot new thing, everyone was doing it and I still wonder why.  I get that Brazilian chicks get about in really tiny bikinis, but the rest of us generally don’t, and we don’t participate in Mardis Gras with feathery headdresses and tassels either (though that would be fun).  Lots of young chicks are ‘going Brazilian’ purely because the young blokes expect it which just ain’t grand.  Everyone’s heard the claim that most Gen Y males haven’t even seen a naturally hairy v-jay jay, which is a bit creepy, partly because totally hairless is just plain weird and also because it reeks of porn industry imagery.  Some beauticians push it too, and even among girlfriends it’s almost a dare or a physical challenge to see if you’d go there.  It’s fine and fun when it’s your own choice, but it’s a big, invasive and very personal deal that you probably don’t want to go through if you’re doing it for some other reason. If you have teenage girls, you probably want them to think about all this first too.

So I’ve gone all mummy at the end, but I can't help it! As a mother of two young girls and a friend and relative of several teenage ones, I can’t help but throw in a dose of concern and protection for the next gen of chicks.  It’s our job as the older, more experienced, still stupidly waxing 20 years later women, to share and pass on this kind of wisdom.  So there you have it.  Go forth and share!

 

5 (quick and healthy) things your kids will love for dinner

Last week, my very funny and very lovely galpal, Bec from saynothingactcasual blogged about the tribulations of making a healthy, preservative-free dinner that everyone at the table will actually eat, night after night after night.  While reading her post I was nodding my head in agreement hell, because as anyone who knows me will tell you, I'm a vegetable scoffing, wheat-free, yeast-free, sugar-free, preservative-free try-hard, whose children came out of my you know where with two food likes on their palates; refined sugar and complex carbohydrates. My arch nemeses. (Is that even a word?)  Needless to say, coming up with popular dinners in our household is an issue, but I have a few winners up my sleeve, and here they are for you.

1.     COTOLETTA – This is a fancy word that we Southern Italians use to describe crumbed veal or chicken. I don’t even know if it’s real Italian or dialect, but I don’t care, because my kids would eat it every day if I gave it to them. Basically, you lightly salt thin slices of whichever meat, dip it into a beaten egg, press it into a mixture of bread crumbs, parsley and parmesan. Shallow fry in a decent oil, drain on a paper towel and serve with cherry tomatoes that only one kid will eat, carrot pieces that the other one will, and cucumbers dowsed in tomato sauce that they’ll both suck up.

2.     ZUCCHINI OMLETTE – By far the easiest.  I think.  Three eggs, whisk, whisk, whisk.  Add milk (I use rice milk, cos we’re half dairy-free).  Grate some zucchini and add it to the mix.  Slice some tasty cheese.  Melt a little oil (coconut oil) in the pan, then pour in the mixture.  Lay the cheese on one half of the circle and turn the heat down by half.  When it looks like it’s holding together, flip the cheeseless side to make a semi-circle, and cut in half.  Voila!  Healthy dinner for two fussy punks.

3.     TACOS/BURRITOS – My kids won’t have the tomatoes, avos or lettuce on the taco or wrap, but I sneak red kidney beans, capsicum, celery and tomato into the beef mixture so I don’t care!  I absolutely won’t touch the preservative-laden store-bought taco mix, but I add spices like cumin and tumeric for the Mexicano flavour.  Beware; I once turned my neighbour’s kid into Angelina Jolie for two days after eating this, and although his mum didn’t think it was the herbs, I’ve never seen a lip swell so quickly in my life, so do test first!  Other than that, my kids – who are tiny – will eat two tacos and a burrito each, including the beans, so knock yourself out!

Crap photo of awesome blender.

4.     PUMPKIN SOUP – Some time ago, my blender broke, and I convinced myself that instead of buying an $80 replacement, I needed a $320 version that also heats things.  The upside is that all I need to do is heat some chopped onion.  In the blender.  I know.  It’s amazing.  I add the stock and the pumpkin, hit boil, and when it’s nice and soft, I hit blend.  Add a little cream, there’s dinner.  Making the toast is the hardest part! My kids like to chop their toast and mix it into the soup, then, simply by eating the massive chunks of soggy toast, the soup disappears as well.  It is, seriously, magic!

5.     VEGETABLE FRITTERS – Again, these hail from my mother’s Italian kitchen where I can’t pretend to belong, but the fritter-making skill is one I’ve picked up and has seen me through many agonising weeknight dinners. I tend to use zucchini and sweet potatoes, or corn or any veges I have in the fridge.  Mix with eggs, salt, pepper and parsley. Finely chopped shallots also go well with the corn ones.  Add flour to make a batter-ish mix. I use rice flour, because of the wheat-freeness of my home. Again, pull out a good quality cooking oil, heat it, and shallow fry these babies. Dollop big spoonfuls of the mix into the oil, and really let them cook for a while before attempting to flip them, otherwise they’ll be a great big mess.  When cooked properly they’ll be lovely light brown on both sides.  The kids will still drown them in tomato sauce, but like I always say to my husband, it’s better than a burger!

I’d love to put a picture of some of these delectable delights up, but it’s almost 10pm and I’m not hitting the kitchen at this hour.   Will post a pic next time I make one…probably tomorrow night!

5 Things You can do to Get Organised

Sometimes you need to clear the decks to clear your head. That's what I did this week. I semi-wagged work (told my boss I needed some me time...I'm a lucky chick), then spent my day getting rid of crap I haven’t worn in years, cleaning out cupboards, and mass culling the kids wardrobes. The result?  The kids no longer fight over the last pair of black leggings, I can find my scissors, egg cups and glue sticks, I’ve cut my dressing time to about 10 mins, and weirdly, I feel about 5 kilos lighter.  Here’s a few ways you can drop 5 kilos without dieting!

1.     BUY BOXES – It’s the $2 shop again. A world of boxes in all shapes, colours and sizes.  Plastic or paper, choose at will and use them to store your kids’ mementos.  The stuff you can’t bear to throw away, and think they may want to look at when they’re 21. The bookmark they made you for mother’s day, the story they wrote in barely legible first-words writing, the teeth the fairy took to build her castle and the patient name-tags from when they had their tonsils out. Box it, label it store it. See ya later crapola, you’re gone from my sight and from my coffee table!

2.     CLEAR OUR YOUR WARDROBE – I did this.  It’s fabulous.  You can see what you have and what you need. For example, I need two new pairs of boots and a pair of flatties pronto!  It’s great for clearing the headspace and saving you time.  Look at what you’ve got, and if you like it, keep it.  If you can’t see yourself wearing it again, chuck it.  If you can’t see yourself wearing it again but you really, really like it, box it!  (see above).  Or bag it, in one of those vacuum seal bags that I can’t seem to use.  

3.     CLEAR OUT YOUR KITCHEN CUPBOARDS – Oh the relief this brings!  No more bread crumbs in the cupboard where the toaster sits.  No greasy ring marks from five varieties of oil.  No drink bottles without lids, cups without saucers, or muffin tins that will never release their contents.  Candles, lighters, toothpicks, bubble mixture, straws, label writing machines, the labels that go with them, thumb tacks, blue tack and the fuzzy little stickers that go on the bottom of your bar stools – you finally know where they are! YAY!

4.     PAY BILLS & MAKE CALLS – Sooooo tedious. Soooo time consuming.  But it has to be done.  Set aside 2-3 hours.  Get your pile of paperwork, your computer and your phone.  Pay what you can online, call whoever you have to, sit on hold and deal with it.  Activate your bloody new FlyBuys card, change your healthcare provider, send the enrolment forms to 5 high schools your kids won't go to, and get the childcare rebate you didn't know you could claim. Stamp them all at once and file them, finished, done, finito!

5.     GET A NOTICE BOARD – I forgot something this week. Two things actually.  Really, monumental, embarrassing things I should never have forgotten.  I have a smartphone calendar with little alarms to remind me about stuff, and yet I still forget because I have SO MUCH stuff to remember.  And because I never know the date, just the day. The easiest way for me to remember stuff is for it to be smack-bang in front of my face.  I use a whiteboard marker on my kitchen splashback to make notes to self, and as I spend so much time in the kitchen, whatever is on that wall is in my head.  Obviously making food for the lady with newborn twins didn’t make it on to the wall. Neither did the two catch up swimming lessons.  They were on the high tech email/phone which system I ignored because I didn’t know what date it was!

5 things you'll only experience once in your lifetime

Lately, I’ve been having lots of conversations about the timing of things in our lives. Deep, I know.  Lots of stuff about how some things are forever, some are for a short time and others are just for once.  It’s the ‘once-only’ stuff that got me thinking. Although advertisers will tell you almost anything is once-in-a-lifetime, there aren’t many things that actually are. It was difficult to come up with this list, but here are 5 things I can think of that will truly only ever happen to you once.  (Of course, I could have included death, but I’m not sure we really experience it, plus it’s just dismal).  If you can think of more, please add them as a comment! 

1.     BIRTH – Sadly, we’re not really in the moment for this one.  Maybe because our bodies are being squeezed through a tube like a sausage through a needle. Or because our heads are squished through a hole like a tennis ball through a piping bag.  Or just because you’re pulled from a warm, safe, peaceful existence into a bright, loud world where all you can hear is yourself crying.  OK.  I retract my opening sentence. Perhaps it’s best that we only experience this once, and that the memory is stored far, far away in that amazingly programmed machine called the mind.

2.     FIRST LOVE – In this we are ever so present because it normally happens in the teenage years, when every emotion is heightened.  The joy, the lust, the longing and the inevitable pain when it all falls apart are experienced on an acute level unlikely to be repeated in your lifetime.  It’s giddy, giddy uncontrollable giddiness, accompanied by insecurity, uncertainty and pure bliss.  Sure, you’ll fall in love again and again, but every time afterwards will be influenced in some way by this very first time, so kids, if you’re reading (and you’re probably not), make it count!   Maybe mum or dad can pass that one on!

3.     YOUR FIRST KISS – So it looks like we’re working in a life-stage pattern, but here’s a most disappointing reality; you will only ever experience your first kiss once.  Unlike falling in love, which covers a period of months to years, your first kiss lasts only a few moments to minutes.  My first one was in an old-school shopping centre photo booth.  Caught on film.  Way before Paris Hilton and those bloody Kardashians made it popular. (I guess I missed my time).  Anyhoo, it was nerve-wracking, butterflies-in- your-tummy yummy weightlessness, and I’ll never forget it, and while I can only speak of this one experience, most people I know tell me the same thing.  Never-had-it-since innocent, nervous bliss.  

4.     LOSING YOUR VIRGINITY – This one is probably more subjective…Unlike falling in love and first kisses, but very much like being born, I’m glad this only happens once.  It’s a one-word reason.  AWKWARD!  It’s clumsy, weird and full of pressure; good or not good.  Where, when?  Right time, right place, right person?  Does it ever live up to the expectation?  Perhaps if there was no expectation it would be better, but it’s generally so built up by the time you get there that the weirdness overshadows the experience.  Next time is better.  And the next, and the next, but you’ve gotta start somewhere, huh?

5.     MEETING YOUR NEWBORN–The culmination of all this loving, kissing and mating brings us back to point number 1, birth.  Poetic really, and I didn’t even plan it.  Although technically you can do this once, twice, even 14 times if you’re that weird octomum in the USA, the first time you hold each new baby in your arms is a significant and never-to-be-had again moment.  Each child you bear is a unique little individual, and the first time you lay eyes on that special person is infused with emotion, meaning and thought. Yes, some of those thoughts are ‘glad that’s over, I’d love a shower and a nap,’ but most are observing, nuzzling and checking out the squirmy little creature in your arms, sizing each other up and setting up one of the most important relationships of your entire lifetime.  Treasure it.  You only get that time once.

So after struggling to find my 5 things, I’ve come up with something rather philosophical: every moment of your life is once-in-a-lifetime.  There are the big moments, like the ones on this list, but the reality is, you’ll never get a single moment back once it’s passed.  So I learned something from this: to accept that every moment is fleeting, to enjoy the moments you love, and to know the others will pass.  I told you this was deep. 

5 things to give instead of chocolate at Easter

If your house is anything like mine, when the bunny visits this week you’ll find yourself with an everlasting and overflowing stash of chocolate goodies that you’re ‘saving for the kids’ in a cupboard up high where they can’t be reached.  The kids will never see these ‘gifts’ because they’ll disappear down you or your partner’s big gobs on lonely Friday nights over the next few months.  SHAKE IT UP this Easter!  Give the kids something to do, see or play.  Throw in a few tiny choccies so you’re not forever known as the demon aunt, and you'll find that you're giving to the parents as well…just not to their waistline.   Check it out…

Our awesome creation from last year.

1.    EASTER CRAFTS – Hit your closest two-dollar shop and you’ll find a mega range of everything Easter.  From paintable foam eggs to cut out chickens, baby chicks, streamers, ribbons, glitter sparkles and anything else you might use for decorating.  Grab a stash of stuff and pop them into one of the beautiful Easter boxes also for sale at these wonderful establishments and voila!  Another non-edible Easter gift for the rascals that will keep them busy.  Along similar lines, you could invite a bunch of kids over and have an Easter-craft day, making hats, bunnies, eggs etc. Everyone gets to take their creation home, and OK, and maybe a little choccy egg or two as well!

2.     MOVIE TICKETS – I don’t know how much you spend on Easter Eggs, but it definitely adds up!  If you have a special kid or two in your life, you might want to consider movie tickets.  Again, every Easter comes with a school holiday and a mum scratching at ideas for things to do.  Don’t waste money on a crappy soft bunnies and eggs with gooey orange centres.  Buy a couple of movie tickets and you’re giving the kids something to do in the Holidays AND a holiday activity that mum or dad don’t have to pay for!

3. ACTIVITY BOOKS – a retro classic?  No!  Kids still love to do puzzles, word games, connect the dots and find the difference.  There are activity books for all ages from toddlers to school age.  There are ‘cool’ ones too, for the kids who think they’re too big for this kind of thing.  Practically every kids movie or TV show will have it’s own activity and or sticker book out there somewhere from Star Wars to Megamind, Toy Story and (already) The Lorax. These will keep kids busy and quiet during the holidays too, especially on rainy days, which helps mum and dad endlessly.      

Yes, she's real!  This is my little Easter Bunny.

4.     EASTER COSTUMES – I know I keep going back to the two-dollar shop, but at this time of year, it’s the place to be!  On their bountiful shelves, you will find Easter masks, hats, bunny ears and even the full bunny get up.  This one is probably more for the younger tots, but let me tell you, the more dress-ups they can have in their dress-up boxes the better.  They will love dressing up on the day, and for weeks and months afterwards when their mates come over to play.  For this reason, you may need to invest in a few el-cheapo costumes – you don’t want a bunch of bickering bunnies in the house! 

5.     HOME MADE EASTER BISCUITS– This is still foody, still sugary, but less likely to be stored and consumed by mums and dads.  Find a basic cookie or biscuit recipe and get busy in the kitchen with the kids.  Use Easter biscuit cutters to make shapes; you can easily find eggs, bunnies and chickens at most homeware shops.  The kids love cutting the shapes and decorating with whatever you see fit; smarties, sprinkles, choc chips.  You can then put them in cellophane bags with pretty ribbons, or paper boxes with stuffed with straw (again, the good old two dollar shop!).  Get creative.

Enjoy the holidays, stay sane and have a HAPPY EASTER!